Three hours is a long period of time to sit and talk with anyone at one time, sometimes even the people that you are closest to. But filling three hours of conversation has never been a problem for Donald Trump.

The once – and hopefully future – president went on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast yesterday, and the episode dropped late yesterday evening. Rogan and Trump have a long connection through the UFC, but Rogan had steadfastly refused to have Trump on his podcast up until this point. That changed after the first assassination attempt back in July in Butler, Pennsylvania, Rogan said.

The UFC commentator turned podcaster referred to Trump’s interview with comedian Theo Von on his podcast in August followed by Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance’s appearance on the same show.

“Is that why you called me to do this,” the 45th president asked with a smile.

“No,” Rogan replied. “Once they shot you I was like ‘he’s gotta come in here.’”

“It’s all about timing, it’s all about the timing. I think the timing is perfect,” he added.

The conversation quickly shifted to Trump’s wound he sustained when 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at the July 13 rally, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore.

Rogan asked if Trump had a scar on his ear.

“It zicked right there,” the GOP presidential nominee said, showing off the wound behind his right ear.

“It healed up pretty f–king good,” Rogan said.

The entire conversation is now up on YouTube, and as of right now, has well over 12 million views in only half a day.

It’s clear that Rogan and Trump had a good time simply talking with each other, and Rogan’s gift is that he just lets people talk. He’s not an adversarial interviewer – he has opinions, but the entire point of his podcast is to give his guests the time and the room to say things that they simply won’t in a limited time setting. For example, this tidbit of information that Trump revealed about the Afghanistan withdrawl – you know, where Kamala said she was the “last person in the room” with Joe Biden and said she was “comfortable” with the decision? Trump claims that General Mark Milley said it would be “cheaper” to leave all the equipment behind.

Trump said President Biden should have fired everyone involved in planning the withdrawal, taking issue with retired Gen. Mark Milley, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump and Biden.
Trump said U.S. troops should have left last from Bagram Air Base because it’s located “one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles” and should have taken all their equipment with them.

“Every plane, every screw should have been taken out, every tent. And I said that. That’s when I realized that Milley was a dummy. I said, ‘we’re leaving, but I want to get everything out,'” Trump said.

“‘Sir, it’s cheaper to leave it,'” Trump said Milley told him.

“It’s cheaper to leave it?” Rogan asked. “Yeah, he said it’s cheaper to leave it,” Trump affirmed.

“Cheaper?” Rogan asked again. “Not more dangerous?”

“He just said cheaper,” Trump said. “I said ‘I want every plane, I want every tank, I want the goggles, said night goggles. They have all this stuff that these guys now have.’ He said, ‘sir, it’s cheaper to get out and leave it.’ I said, so you think it’s cheaper to leave $150 million brand new airplane in there than it is to fly it out with a tank of jet fuel and put it in Pakistan, or just fly it directly back?”

“‘It’s cheaper to leave it.’ I said, ‘this guy’s nuts,'” Trump added. “I’m telling you, he was so stupid. He was so unwise. He was like an unwise man. And there were a number of them.”

President Trump on Kamala's disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal: "That's when I realized Milley was a dummy. I said, 'we're leaving, but I want to get everything out.' 'Sir, it's cheaper to leave it.'"

ROGAN: "Cheaper? Not more dangerous?"

TRUMP:: "He just said cheaper." pic.twitter.com/cyeRUKU4AE

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 26, 2024

Considering all the arms and military equipment that WAS left behind in Afghanistan for the Taliban to parade around with, the evidence alone tends to back up Trump’s account of this conversation.

There was no subject that was left unturned in this conversation, but the genius of Rogan’s show is that he allows his guests to meander, but always seems to bring them back around to discussing interesting matters. It’s clear that both men enjoyed the conversation, which led Trump to point out that Kamala Harris could not handle doing Rogan’s podcast.

TRUMP: "Can you imagine Kamala doing this show?… If she did this kind of interview with you — I hope she does because it would be a mess — she’d be laying on the floor comatose." pic.twitter.com/1wATKhRb0j

— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) October 26, 2024

While Trump again referred to Kamala Harris as “a low IQ person,” Rogan is still holding out hope that the vice president would come on his show. After all, it would be a ratings bonanza for him, and a massive amount of exposure for her. Which is precisely why she will likely avoid the show.

Rogan said that he believes things would go smoothly and that he would be able to talk to her.

“I wouldn’t try to interview her,” he said. “I’d just try to have a conversation with her and hopefully get to know her as a human being.”

“That was my goal, having her on, trying to get her to express herself,” he added.

Again, the longest format interview that Kamala Harris has done during this election cycle was the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, which was centered around her favorite topic – abortion – and the podcast air time was 44 minutes long. Could Kamala Harris do a three hour conversation with Joe Rogan that doesn’t involve talking about abortion the entire time? It would be very hard for her. We have never seen Kamala Harris in this kind of freewheeling open conversation, and probably for good reason. I’m not sure she has enough of a script memorized to make it through two hours, much less the three that Trump did.

The conversation between Trump and Rogan is worth the listen, just for the entertainment value. There wasn’t really anything new on policy mentioned that we haven’t heard before. But Trump going on the show does two things, besides reaching a very wide audience. First, it knocks back the narrative that the Harris-Walz campaign was trying to push, that Trump is old and “exhausted.” Second, it proves that he can talk and fill a three hour conversation without running out of things to say, something that Kamala has not proven that she can do. Joe Rogan made it clear that the door is open for Kamala Harris. If she doesn’t walk into the studio, and match Trump’s podcast time, then she is conceding both the audience reach and the perception that she is incapable of holding that conversation. She has just over a week to commit and go. Joe Rogan should not be holding his breath that she will show up.

Featured image: composite collage of Joe Rogan and Donald Trump, screenshots from “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast via YouTube